Shark Tank is back at Wayland High!

Special to the Crier

Wednesday

Jan 31, 2018 at 1:25 PMJan 31, 2018 at 1:25 PM

Just another day filled with Voodoo Economics and daydreaming in Fred Lehmann’s Wayland High School business class? Hardly. This was the final round of the highly anticipated, second annual Wayland Business Association (WBA)/Wayland High School Shark Tank. The event kicks off fundraising efforts by the six student business teams that marks a deepening partnership between local business professionals and the Entrepreneurship and Business Management (EBM) classes that are enrolling close to 40 students this year.

Seated on the left side of the classroom was the focused and confident team from DubTown Decals, a business aiming to reignite Wayland spirit through sales of its high-quality, original decals designed by founder and CFO Max Salgannik. Poised to make the presentation were Chief Marketing Officer Derek Horowitz and Ryan Nolan, head of investor relations. Standing excitedly across the room in matching blue blazers gazed the polished team from Kids Night Out, a business of nine students committed to bringing back the Friday night extravaganza they (and their liberated parents) fondly remember from the late elementary and early middle school years. CEO Andy Brogan and the tag team of Chief Marketing Officer Jake Sachs and Seth Falber leaned in, ready to lead the charge.

The bell rang and each team was given a few minutes to present their business idea and then respond to probing questions from the “sharks” in hopes of convincing them their business plan was the most deserving of the sharks’ investment dollars. In the end both teams performed admirably and will get an investment from the Wayland Business Association that substantially funds the start-up costs of their business.

In addition to these top two teams, each of the four other business teams (Warrior Phone Case, WayBans, WayLights, and Speedy Sandwich) will receive some funding toward the capital needed to launch their businesses in late January.

Dubtown Decals, the overall victor in the Shark Tank competition, was the first EBM business to launch this year when it kicked off sales at the Wayland-Weston boys basketball game on Friday, Jan. 12. They have elected to steer all profits from their business to Wayland Boosters at the end of the school year.

Leading up to the Shark Tank event were in-depth presentations at the end of November and early December by nine business teams competing to emerge as one of the six finalist businesses. At the conclusion of each presentation students had the opportunity to interact with the visiting entrepreneurs and business professionals who served as judges and collaborate on fine-tuning their business plan and strategy.

This year’s slate of business professionals volunteering their time and expertise was broadened quite a bit to include parents all across Wayland in addition to WBA members. Donating time as EBM judges this year were Chris Riffle, Chris Lindstrom, Garrett Larrivee, Ryan Martens, Craig Griffin, Donna Testa, Kara Harvey, Rob Haskins, Paul Morenberg, Steve Fredette, Elizabeth Russell and Brian Thornfeldt.

Over the past 15 years there have been more than 40 EBM student-run businesses that have generated in excess of $40,000 in profits that have been donated to charities and local organizations.

Fred Lehmann, business and economics teacher at Wayland High School, and Chris Riffle, certified financial planner at Baystate Financial, collaborated on this article.